0:00:03 > 0:00:06We visit some prestigious locations on the Antiques Roadshow,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08from grand country estates
0:00:08 > 0:00:12to iconic institutions like Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13But, you know, it's not every day
0:00:13 > 0:00:15we get an invitation to a Royal palace,
0:00:15 > 0:00:17so tonight you're in for a treat
0:00:17 > 0:00:20as we set up our cameras at Kensington Palace
0:00:20 > 0:00:24for a special Diamond Jubilee edition of the Antiques Roadshow
0:00:24 > 0:00:27to celebrate 60 years of our Queen on the throne.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Last year we appealed to you for Royal stories,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17intimate glimpses into the life of the Queen.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Well, we had more responses than we could ever have hoped for -
0:01:21 > 0:01:23hundreds of eye-witness accounts
0:01:23 > 0:01:26of special moments in the life of Elizabeth II.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Tonight we can share a handful with you, spanning the Queen's life
0:01:33 > 0:01:38from childhood to the present day - a kind of This is Your Life, Ma'am.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Our venue today is Kensington Palace,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55home to Royal residents since the late 1600s
0:01:55 > 0:01:59and most significantly it was the birthplace and childhood home
0:01:59 > 0:02:04of the only other British monarch to celebrate 60 years on the throne.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Queen Victoria held her first cabinet meeting in Kensington Palace
0:02:09 > 0:02:13on the 20th June 1837, aged just 18,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17a few hours after learning she was the monarch.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Victoria reigned for 63 years,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26and like her great-great-granddaughter,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29her reign spanned periods of great change.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32You can stroll through many of Victoria's State Apartments here,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35in a new exhibition which charts the story of her life.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Festivities for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
0:02:45 > 0:02:47took place across the nation,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52echoed 115 years later by the recent celebrations for our current Queen.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56And that's our cue to begin this special edition,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00as experts Hilary Kay, Clive Farahar, Judith Miller,
0:03:00 > 0:03:01Marc Allum and Philip Mould
0:03:01 > 0:03:03meet viewers with their own special stories
0:03:03 > 0:03:06celebrating the life of the Queen.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Our first story is about a birthday gift from the people of Wales.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14I'm so lucky to be able to start the programme
0:03:14 > 0:03:17talking about Princess Elizabeth, aged 6,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19and the little Welsh cottage that was built
0:03:19 > 0:03:21two-fifths scale - not this one,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23which is a doll's house version -
0:03:23 > 0:03:26but two-fifths scale Welsh cottage built for her
0:03:26 > 0:03:30at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, and there's a lovely picture here.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34We've got the Duchess and the Duke and Elizabeth here
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and Margaret Rose, surrounded by dogs of assorted types and,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40you know, lovely family scene.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Now, what's your story and your link to it?
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Well, my father was foreman
0:03:45 > 0:03:49when the cottage was transported to the grounds of the Royal Lodge
0:03:49 > 0:03:52and he was responsible for building the walls
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and making sure the bay windows were in correctly,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58siting the cottage and all the finishing touches.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03Brilliant, and there's a lovely photographic record, isn't it?
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Presumably, this is your Pa down here, is it?
0:04:05 > 0:04:06Yes, yes, it is here,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and here is standing in the doorway of the completed cottage.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Great, and this one here,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14which gives a lovely indication of the scale,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18because there's your dad. He was sort of normal dad height, was he?
0:04:18 > 0:04:20That's right, that's right, yes.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And you can see he's way taller than the little front door,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25and the little Welsh house.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Now I'm going to try and say it in Welsh. Y Bwthyn...
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Y Bwthyn Bach gwae-aeth.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38There'll be letters! But it's the best I can do.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41So, from his point of view, it was something he saw as a high point in his career.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Absolutely, especially when he was working and the Duchess -
0:04:46 > 0:04:49she was the Duchess of York then - she would come round
0:04:49 > 0:04:53and just see how work was going and chat to him, quite regularly, so.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Well, one hears a lot about the Duchess -
0:04:56 > 0:04:59the Queen Mother as she went on to be - she was incredibly warm.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01So you have made it your business
0:05:01 > 0:05:04to collect around the little Welsh cottage
0:05:04 > 0:05:06and have other things to do with it,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and I notice here there's a lovely card based on a watercolour,
0:05:10 > 0:05:15but what is great is it's a very early card because inside -
0:05:15 > 0:05:19it's a Christmas card - "To Mary",
0:05:19 > 0:05:23and it's signed, in her hand, "From Lilibet".
0:05:23 > 0:05:26- That's right.- As, of course, Her Majesty called herself
0:05:26 > 0:05:28and as her close friends still call her.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31And do you know who Lady Mary is?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Lady Mary Cambridge went on to be
0:05:33 > 0:05:34one of her bridesmaids at her wedding.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Wonderful!
0:05:36 > 0:05:37So that's that connection.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41So the other accessories that we have here -
0:05:41 > 0:05:45the little house - that came later?
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Or is that something you purchased or...?
0:05:47 > 0:05:49We found it and we just wanted to buy it,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53- simply because it was a replica of the cottage.- Exactly.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57But I would say the most valuable piece that you've brought along here
0:05:57 > 0:06:00is actually the little signed Christmas card from Lilibet,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04because today, a retail price for that would be about £750.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10So...a lovely remembrance of a little girl
0:06:10 > 0:06:14who just so loved what your father had created for her.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22So, not many people can say
0:06:22 > 0:06:26that their mother actually played with the Queen.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28It sounds like a dance song, doesn't it?
0:06:28 > 0:06:30But not many people can say that.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34- No, that's true.- And so how does your mother know the Queen?
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Well, our grandfather was the head gamekeeper to the Earl of Strathmore,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40the Queen Mother's father,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and our grandmother was the head cook.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- So here they are, your grandfather and your grandmother.- That's right.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51- She was the Mrs Bridges, was she? - Yes.- And who's this at the top?
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- That's my mother with Zena. - And who is that?
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- And that's me.- Oh, that's you?- As a little girl.- Haven't you grown?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Oh, that's lovely! Anyway these are the Strathmore family here,
0:07:00 > 0:07:05all looking very dour, I suppose, and the Queen Mother.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- That's right.- Looking rather lovely on the end, and this photograph,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11a wonderful one of all the people from the kitchen,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14- with your grandmother over there. - That's correct, yes.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16So tell me about this playing. How did it occur?
0:07:16 > 0:07:22Well, the Queen used to be brought by her nanny to play on the farm,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26when she was a little girl, about five or six, and my mother
0:07:26 > 0:07:30and the Queen and Princess Margaret were one day playing
0:07:30 > 0:07:35near the farm duck pond and the Queen used to take charge of the games.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Oh, she was in charge?
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Yes, that's right, and one day they were playing a naval game
0:07:40 > 0:07:43and they were making little boats out of twigs and leaves
0:07:43 > 0:07:47and floating them on the duck pond and they scribed a little channel
0:07:47 > 0:07:51to a harbour that they'd constructed out of the mud in a nearby pond
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and then they went off to their lunch - they were called away.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56And then, sometime later in the afternoon,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59there was a big commotion outside,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and my mother went outside to find her father very angry
0:08:02 > 0:08:06because the pond had been emptied, all the water
0:08:06 > 0:08:09had drained out of it, by this little channel that they'd scribed.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11So the whole thing had been sort of scuppered.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- That's right, yes, and flooded the lane. - So who got into trouble?
0:08:14 > 0:08:17My mother, because of being one year older than the others,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21went to bed for her sins and when the nanny got to hear about this...
0:08:21 > 0:08:26- Who was the nanny?- Clara Knight, she was known by the Princesses as Alla.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- Alla.- I think it's because they couldn't say "Clara".
0:08:29 > 0:08:34And so she sent down a book that had belonged to the Queen.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36So this book here? This book here, this lovely Aesop's Fables.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40- That's right.- With illustrations by Edward Detmold.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42- That's correct.- They are the most wonderful illustrations,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47typically Edwardian I suppose, very strong, very bright, very brilliant.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50But you know what I'm going to say about this book, don't you?
0:08:50 > 0:08:52It's not in good condition.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54It's been enjoyed far too much.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- Yes. - By the Princesses, by your mother.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01A fine copy would make around £500-£600.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06Your poor copy here would make less than a hundred,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10probably about £20-£30 or something but,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12with the Royal connection,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15that would go for considerably more than a fine copy.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- Thank you, thank you. - You're welcome. Thank you.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Royal duty started early. At the tender of age of 14,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Princess Elizabeth - as she was then - made her first state broadcast.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- And it was with your father, wasn't it?- That's right.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37With, of course, the very famous Uncle Mac of Children's Hour.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39- That's correct. - And did he talk to you about it?
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Well, he was very excited afterwards.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44I don't remember beforehand. I guess he was quite nervous.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46- Because you were very small then. - I was seven, yes.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48I can just about remember.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50It must have been a very important moment for him.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53I think it was probably the highlight of his career, I would think.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56And, of course, Children's Hour
0:09:56 > 0:09:58broadcast to the nation, across the Empire.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00And what were his opening words?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02- "Hello, children, everywhere". - Of course.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04This is the princesses here.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08- That's right.- Princess Elizabeth brought her sister to listen.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Yes, and in the speech she says at the very end,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14"Now, come along, Margaret, come and say good night"
0:10:14 > 0:10:16She says, "Goodnight, children." as well.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19- Now, we've got the broadcast here on a 78.- We have, yes.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22By the magic of technology we have got it now on a slightly more
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- high-tech version, and we can listen to it.- Wonderful.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27So this is your father, Uncle Mac, starting off,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29and the Queen just 14 years old.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33RECORD PLAYS: Her Royal Highness, Princess Elizabeth.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37In wishing you all good evening,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41I feel that I am speaking to friends and companions
0:10:41 > 0:10:44who have shared with my sister and myself,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48many a happy Children's Hour.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Thousands of you in this country
0:10:50 > 0:10:52have had to leave your homes
0:10:52 > 0:10:56and be separated from your fathers and mothers.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00It's just adorable, isn't it, hearing her voice so young?
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Of course, this was 1940 when she made this speech,
0:11:04 > 0:11:09so children being evacuated and this was her speech to comfort
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- the children of the nation and of the empire.- Yes, yes.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- So here you are, this is you two, presumably?- It is, yes.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- With Uncle Mac, with Dad. - And Mummy.- And Mum.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Did your father tell you anything about when he met the princesses and what they were like?
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Well, the fact they were two sisters.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26And somebody asked me this question
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and I think he was used to having two girls
0:11:29 > 0:11:33and it was just two little girls, more or less the same age as his own.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36And presumably the broadcast, even with Princess Elizabeth,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38ended with the words that he always ended with.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Let's hear it from you two.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42"Good night, children, everywhere."
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Come on, Margaret.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Good night, children.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Good night and good luck to you all.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59We're used to thinking of our Queen in very regal attire
0:11:59 > 0:12:02but when she was Princess Elizabeth, during the Second World War,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06she wore something quite different. How do you know about this?
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Well, during the war she actually wore military uniform
0:12:09 > 0:12:11because she attended a course at Camberley,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14all to do with motor transport and driving, and Highway Code,
0:12:14 > 0:12:19and she was in the ATS, which is the Auxiliary Territorial Service,
0:12:19 > 0:12:25and one of the other people on this course was my mother.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27This is the Queen and that's my mother.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31And this was very unusual for a member of the Royal Family,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34particularly a female, to attend a public course.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36And this is your mum's diary?
0:12:36 > 0:12:41Yes, she wrote a day-by-day diary and if I just read some of it.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45"The Commandant told us that we had the honour to be picked
0:12:45 > 0:12:50"to attend a cadre course with the Princess Elizabeth for three weeks."
0:12:50 > 0:12:53So what did the course involve?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Well, everything to do with motor transport.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58How to change a tyre, how to change the plugs.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I believe at one point she went home and told her father,
0:13:01 > 0:13:06the King, that she could now decoke an engine which I think is probably
0:13:06 > 0:13:08a little exuberant, but anyway, you know,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12but by the end of it she could change a wheel with the best of them.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Obviously the Queen held this period in her life with great affection
0:13:15 > 0:13:18- because we have a lovely photograph here.- Yes.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21There was an advert in one of the magazines saying,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24"If you attended this course please would you write in."
0:13:24 > 0:13:27So my mother did and they were invited up to...
0:13:27 > 0:13:29I think it was Eaton Square.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32They arrived and then a big black car pulled up,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34the Queen got out and they had a really good chinwag
0:13:34 > 0:13:38and bun fight and what-have-you and thoroughly enjoyed it.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41And of course this is the Queen and your mum.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42My mother is the one in blue.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46The one in blue, so very fond memories obviously of that time
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and the Queen kept in touch.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Yes, my mother was taken ill, oh, what, three or four years ago,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and somehow the Queen heard about it
0:13:55 > 0:13:57and we received this lovely letter.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01And she says, "Her Majesty thinks about those times in war
0:14:01 > 0:14:05"when you were both serving together at Camberley." A lovely touch.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09These are great memories and here we have to put a value on things.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13And obviously this is much more a sentiment than anything else,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15but certainly some of these photographs...
0:14:15 > 0:14:20and I know you have about 30 of the photographs of Princess Elizabeth,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23these would be worth at least £100 each but, of course,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27to you, the story of your mother's involvement is much more important.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Yes....I'm... Yes.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32I'm proud of my mother.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44A 21st birthday is a very important birthday.
0:14:44 > 0:14:50Princess Elizabeth spent her 21st birthday on HMS Vanguard in 1947.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54What was she doing on HMS Vanguard in 1947?
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Well, the Royal Family were doing a cruise to South Africa.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00I think it was probably a last attempt
0:15:00 > 0:15:03to try to keep South Africa within the Commonwealth.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06But she happened to have her 21st birthday
0:15:06 > 0:15:09while we were actually in Cape Town.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11So explain your connection with HMS Vanguard to me.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Well, I was Senior Sub-Lieutenant. I was "Sub of the Gun Rooms".
0:15:14 > 0:15:15How did that work?
0:15:15 > 0:15:19With the King, the Queen and two princesses walking round the decks?
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Yes, well, they kept very much to their own part of the ship.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Yes.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Because they didn't want to embarrass all of us at our work,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30but I mean they mixed very freely
0:15:30 > 0:15:33and talked very freely with ship's company.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Well, I can see that from your album
0:15:35 > 0:15:37because here are some photographs
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and this is the crossing the line ceremony, isn't it?
0:15:40 > 0:15:41Yes, that's right.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45You have this kind of ceremonial shaving as you cross the equator
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and here is the Princess herself undergoing that ritual.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Now how far did that ceremony go?
0:15:51 > 0:15:56Well, yes, Princess Elizabeth got blasted with it and shaved
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- and jumped into the pool.- Really?!
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Oh, yes.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03That's quite amazing. Also there's what appears to be
0:16:03 > 0:16:06a kind of a cake decoration, can you explain to me what that is?
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Yes, well, that came off her 21st birthday cake
0:16:09 > 0:16:12and I sucked all the icing off the stalk
0:16:12 > 0:16:14but, I mean, it's...
0:16:14 > 0:16:17I've kept it stuck in an album ever since.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19So there you were eating a bit of birthday cake,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22were you with a few of your colleagues?
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Well, it was a huge party and, of course,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27I was just one of hundreds of people who were there.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29I think you're hiding your light under a bushel a bit,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33to be honest, because there's a wonderful letter that says,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35"Dear Mr Davidson," - of course that's you -
0:16:35 > 0:16:37"It is most kind of you to invite us
0:16:37 > 0:16:39"to come to the gun room on Saturday
0:16:39 > 0:16:42"and we shall look forward very much indeed to our visit.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44"I am yours, very sincerely, Elizabeth R."
0:16:44 > 0:16:46What in fact was the gun room?
0:16:46 > 0:16:49The gun room was the mess for the Sub-Lieutenants and Midshipmen.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52- Right.- They had a nice little drink and they actually organised
0:16:52 > 0:16:56some of the Midshipmen into a choir, a Russian choir.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Right. Sounds like such a fun time.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Yeah, well, they were very entertaining and full of fun.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Well, I think given the plethora of material in here,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08given that very lovely little signed letter,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10I have no hesitation in saying that probably,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14for insurance purposes, it should be around about the £800 mark.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Mm, oh, well, I'd better do something about it.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19- Thank you very much, Marc.- Thank you.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Take a look at this photograph.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30This is the first time, captured on film, that Elizabeth met Philip.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Now, this was when Princess Elizabeth was just 13,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38and there's Philip of course - the future Prince Philip -
0:17:38 > 0:17:39who was at Dartmouth Royal Naval College
0:17:39 > 0:17:42when Princess Elizabeth and her family were paying a visit.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43And this is the moment,
0:17:43 > 0:17:48according to Royal folklore anyway, where the romance began.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50And our story moves now to their wedding
0:17:50 > 0:17:52and Hilary Kay has with her a visitor
0:17:52 > 0:17:55who played a very special role on that day.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I'm sitting here with somebody
0:17:57 > 0:18:01who actually had a hand in stitching Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Lucky you!
0:18:03 > 0:18:07Now, you were working at Norman Hartnell, presumably?
0:18:07 > 0:18:12One should explain that Norman Hartnell was THE name
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- as a society dressmaker and couturier, wasn't he?- Oh, he was.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- He was the royal dressmaker. - You were a mere slip of a girl.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Tell me how you got involved on the wedding dress.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Well, I was bring trained under Norman Hartnell's senior hand,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Miss Holiday,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30and I remember Norman Hartnell coming to our workroom,
0:18:30 > 0:18:32coming to our table, with the sketch
0:18:32 > 0:18:36that Princess Elizabeth had chosen for her wedding dress,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40and he said to Miss Holiday, "Would you please make her wedding dress?"
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Miss Holiday hesitated and we said,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45"Oh, please, please!" So she said,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48- "Yes, I will. I will take it on" - Fantastic.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51And I had to do the buttonholes, make the buttonholes.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Now, you've got a wonderful scrapbook here,
0:18:55 > 0:19:00and I swear that I saw amongst these, some buttonholes, here.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Now, how many of these buttonholes did you have to do
0:19:04 > 0:19:06on the finished garment? Were there dozens?
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Well, there were 20 down the back because her dress fastened that way.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- Mm, mm.- And I had never worked with buttonholes before,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16so Miss Holiday said, "Well, you sit there and you practise."
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And they were two of the practice buttonholes.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20And I made the buttons as well.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24And you covered the... they're self-covered buttons.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Yes, they are the same material, yes, as the wedding dress.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Fabulous! Now, skimming on in this wonderful album of yours, there is this fabulous photograph.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36- Now, this is presumably Hartnell's workroom.- It is.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39And, look, there's a circle, a blue circle round somebody here.
0:19:39 > 0:19:40Could this be you, Betty?
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- It could.- Wonderful!
0:19:42 > 0:19:44And how many of your fellow seamstresses,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48who worked on the dress, are still around and telling the story?
0:19:48 > 0:19:52We can't get in touch with anyone else. I don't know. I have tried.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54So you're the last living treasure, are you?
0:19:54 > 0:19:59I'm the last, yes. The last one alive and kicking I would think.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01And then, did you see it on the day?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05I did, and we did have a lovely position to see
0:20:05 > 0:20:09the Royal procession and I remember seeing Princess Elizabeth
0:20:09 > 0:20:11wearing that dress that I'd worked on,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15and she looked absolutely wonderful
0:20:15 > 0:20:17in her tiara, sitting next to her father - the King.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Fantastic.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20It was lovely, it was lovely.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Well, I mean it's difficult to put a value on a collection like this,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26because after all, they are just little snippets.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- Mm.- Altogether, we're talking about a figure of between perhaps £500
0:20:30 > 0:20:33- and £700. - Oh, that sounds very nice!
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Which is very nice but it's fabulous, Betty.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Thank you for telling your story
0:20:37 > 0:20:40and as the last living treasure
0:20:40 > 0:20:45to have stitched this dress in Norman Hartnell's workroom.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49- Yes, yes.- It's been an absolute joy. - A pleasure talking to you, thank you.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Is this really a piece of the Queen's wedding cake?
0:20:59 > 0:21:04Yes, it really, really is a piece of the Queen's wedding cake.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06My granddad, Cyril Edwards,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10was part of the Guard of Honour for the Queen's wedding.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13I can see we've got a couple of photographs of him here in uniform.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16How did he get chosen to be in that Guard of Honour?
0:21:16 > 0:21:18We're not a hundred per cent sure.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23We know that he was on a ship with the Duke of Edinburgh
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and we don't actually know whether he was invited
0:21:26 > 0:21:30whilst he was still on active service, or whether it was after,
0:21:30 > 0:21:34but there's a group of petty officers, the Guard of Honour there.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37It's interesting, isn't it, to think
0:21:37 > 0:21:39that there's a piece of cake in there
0:21:39 > 0:21:42- that is well over 60 years old. - 60 years old, yeah.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44This particular cake was rather interesting
0:21:44 > 0:21:46because it almost didn't happen.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Just post-war, of course,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50rationing was still in force.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52There was an interesting solution to that.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54I think when this became a little bit of an issue,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57the ingredients came from somewhere else.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Do you know where they came from?
0:21:59 > 0:22:01- I don't, no. - Well, they came from Australia.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04- Really?- And the Girl Guides of Australia
0:22:04 > 0:22:07sent all the ingredients over
0:22:07 > 0:22:09for the wedding cake.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12It was known as the 10,000 mile wedding cake.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15It was nine foot tall and weighed over 500lbs.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Let's have a look at your piece
0:22:17 > 0:22:19because it'll only be a little piece.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Here it is, in its original wrapping.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26we open it up - got some tissue - look at the tissue,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30and we've even got some decorations from the top of the cake.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33- Yeah.- How wonderful, look at that. - So you can sort of get an idea.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I think silver and green mainly was the colour scheme.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Yeah, obviously very delicate.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39I'll be very careful with that.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42If we go a little bit lower, we've got a cake mat in the top.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- Yeah.- And then we get to the actual cake
0:22:44 > 0:22:49and I can see there are some rather kind of mummified-looking raisins
0:22:49 > 0:22:51- hanging around in there.- Well done.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53I'm not going further than this.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55- No.- I suspect that it's rather fragile.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58So whose decision was it not to eat the cake?
0:22:58 > 0:23:00My Nan was actually a very staunch Royalist.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02She wouldn't have eaten the cake.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06She was so proud of my granddad actually taking part
0:23:06 > 0:23:08in this big royal event
0:23:08 > 0:23:12and she used to make quite a big thing
0:23:12 > 0:23:15of showing it to visitors and people,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17just general people that she knew,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20that maybe didn't know that my granddad had been
0:23:20 > 0:23:23in the Guard of Honour and she would,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26"Ooh, look, see what I've got in my display case."
0:23:26 > 0:23:31And would get the cake out and would show it to various people.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Well, as it turns out, it was a pretty wise decision.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39A piece just like this sold fairly recently for £1,000.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Really?! A thousand pounds?
0:23:43 > 0:23:44£1,000.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47I don't think that had better go back up in the loft, do you?
0:23:52 > 0:23:56So you're here today to tell me a story about your Godmother,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58but some people watching the programme
0:23:58 > 0:24:01might recognise your voice as Brian Aldridge of The Archers.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Well, indeed they might, but I am here to talk about my Godmother
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and this is her here,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Adria, who was married to the private secretary
0:24:09 > 0:24:13of the Governor General of Kenya in 1952.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17So in February 1952 what should have been a really joyous occasion
0:24:17 > 0:24:19for Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22a holiday in Kenya, turned out to have tragic overtones.
0:24:22 > 0:24:23Yeah, it was joyous to start with
0:24:23 > 0:24:25and particularly joyous to my Godmother.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29They were so excited having this young couple.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32In fact, she wrote some wonderful letters back to her mother
0:24:32 > 0:24:33which you've got there.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Yes, I've got one. I've got one here.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38She says that, "She's very slim with Heavenly clothes."
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And that "Heavenly" with a capital "H"
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and, "He is much taller than I expected and really delightful,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46"enjoys everything and misses nothing,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48"always has the right thing to say
0:24:48 > 0:24:50"at the right moment, to the right person."
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Well, there you are, what a surprise!
0:24:52 > 0:24:55And how he's kept that up over the last 50 or 60 years, I think(!)
0:24:55 > 0:24:57- Well known for it!- Yeah, absolutely.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59I love the little thing at the end where she says,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02"They have just phoned from the lodge to say all is well,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04"except they have no tea strainer".
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- Oh, my dear! Poor things.- I wonder who forgot to pack the tea strainer.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10A couple of days later she wrote another letter to her mother
0:25:10 > 0:25:13with more wonderful stuff about the food they were eating and all that
0:25:13 > 0:25:18and, of course, four days after that, wrote the letter which is so tragic.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22- Which of course her father had died and she was the Queen.- Absolutely.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24I must just get this letter which is, which is quite fun,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28because at the very, very top she writes
0:25:28 > 0:25:30"PS: They had 74 pieces of luggage,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32"not counting jewel cases etc."
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Well, it so happened that the Royal household
0:25:34 > 0:25:38knew that the King was likely to die and had sent,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41amongst the 74 items of luggage,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44had sent one case full of mourning clothes.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46To their horror, when they opened it,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50they found there were no long black gloves for the young Queen to wear.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52So my Godmother stood up and said,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55"Well, why don't you have mine, Ma'am?"
0:25:55 > 0:25:58And my Godmother was very proud and she said,
0:25:58 > 0:25:59"And I'd like you to know, dear,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03"that when you saw that wonderful photograph of the young Queen
0:26:03 > 0:26:07"sadly coming down the steps on the BOAC jet at Heathrow,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10"they are my long black gloves she's wearing."
0:26:10 > 0:26:12And then she paused and she said, "But I have to tell you,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16"I've always been rather miffed that I never got them back".
0:26:17 > 0:26:20In terms of value, they're not going to be very valuable
0:26:20 > 0:26:24but it's because of the momentous occasion that this...
0:26:24 > 0:26:26I think there would be historical value in them
0:26:26 > 0:26:30and I think for all your things, I think we'd probably be talking £100.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Oh, I'd be amazed they're worth that.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35But the story is fabulous.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Good, yes. Imagine how much the gloves would be worth though!
0:26:48 > 0:26:50In June 1953, the nation witnessed
0:26:50 > 0:26:53the first televised Coronation, of course of Elizabeth II,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and I'm here in the dress stores at Kensington Palace.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Alexandra, you're the curator here,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01and you've got some remarkable pieces from that day.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Absolutely. One of the things we've got is a beautiful embroidery sample,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09made by Norman Hartnell to really display
0:27:09 > 0:27:14the wonderful floral symbols that he was including in the Queen's dress.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19She was very insistent she wanted all Commonwealth countries represented,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23and that's something which has been very dear to her throughout her life,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27and it's lovely that it was there on this really important day in 1953.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30And do you have any of Hartnell's original designs?
0:27:30 > 0:27:31Well, we do, actually.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34What we've got are some of the designs for some of the other dresses
0:27:34 > 0:27:35because he was also responsible
0:27:35 > 0:27:37for most of the dresses worn by
0:27:37 > 0:27:41the really important other women at the Coronation.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45So, for example, Princess Margaret's beautiful embroidered dress
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and here we have an early design for that
0:27:47 > 0:27:49with the beautiful floral embroidery.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52You can just imagine how this would have glistened
0:27:52 > 0:27:54and glimmered as she walked down.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56That is beautiful, look at that.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Absolutely. And he designed for the Queen Mother,
0:27:59 > 0:28:00for the Duchess of Kent
0:28:00 > 0:28:03and also for the Maids of Honour,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07the six women who accompanied the Queen as she walked the aisle.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10So here we have a variety of designs allowing Hartnell to show everyone
0:28:10 > 0:28:13and again for the Queen to make choices
0:28:13 > 0:28:16about exactly what she wanted on the day.
0:28:16 > 0:28:17And of course extra pressure
0:28:17 > 0:28:20because it was the first time a Coronation had been televised.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21Absolutely and I think. in that way,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Norman Hartnell was perhaps a perfect choice
0:28:23 > 0:28:26because he wasn't just a fashion designer,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28he had a background in the theatre,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31and so, of course, well used to thinking about staging everything
0:28:31 > 0:28:35and the way in which it would look visually as a whole set piece.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52So it wasn't just television that communicated the Coronation
0:28:52 > 0:28:55to the nation but artists as well
0:28:55 > 0:28:57and you have a print here
0:28:57 > 0:29:00by Terence Cuneo of the Coronation,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04together with a preparatory drawing for this great painting.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07- Yes.- It's actually rather compelling, looking into this, isn't it?
0:29:07 > 0:29:09It's the detail of it that I find phenomenal -
0:29:09 > 0:29:12so many people and so much work in it -
0:29:12 > 0:29:15and unmistakably that is a snapshot from history.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18You could see it from 100 metres away and go, "I know what that is".
0:29:18 > 0:29:21And of course the moment is when Prince Philip is, fittingly,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24paying homage to his wife, the Queen.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28But what is so interesting about it is, yes, you have the print,
0:29:28 > 0:29:33but you have beneath it a drawing of none other than Prince Charles.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35How old is he in that?
0:29:35 > 0:29:39He was four years old when that was done, as a study for...
0:29:39 > 0:29:43he appears just in the bottom here - as a study for the picture above.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46And I think the artist, Terence Cuneo, went to the palace
0:29:46 > 0:29:48and spent a few hours sketching away
0:29:48 > 0:29:50to try and get the right image.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55What I love about this sketch is the information, not only facially
0:29:55 > 0:29:58that it contains, but the notes on top,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01one of which I think is particularly revealing.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04"Golden light" it says, pointing to Charles' head,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07and in the final picture,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11sure enough, a sort of divine glow around his head.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13So this is a little glimpse - a window -
0:30:13 > 0:30:16into the huge amount of work that must have taken place.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20But what I think is lovely about this for an artist
0:30:20 > 0:30:22who we associate with the jigsaw puzzle
0:30:22 > 0:30:27and the tablemat and other types of sort of pub decoration,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30he was a very swift draughtsman of kids.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32I think it's an unusually good drawing,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35let alone the fact that it's of Prince Charles,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39and who knows, possibly the earliest portrait of him.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42So did you acquire these recently?
0:30:42 > 0:30:44I bought them about a year ago.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48We were lucky enough to buy another oil painting by Terence Cuneo
0:30:48 > 0:30:51and a dealer near where we live rang me up
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and said he had this and it was a one-off and unique.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Went to see it, deliberated,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59because it's not his normal thing as you so rightly pointed out,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03and decided the two must go together. So, yes,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05we bought them both together about a year ago.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08And may I be so bold as to ask you what you paid?
0:31:08 > 0:31:10Yes, of course, including all the framing
0:31:10 > 0:31:14and all the other things that go with it, it was £4,000 for the pair.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16Well, do you know I think you've done very well.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20I mean, I would value this print, of which there are many examples,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23in fact you can see that it's numbered down there 349,
0:31:23 > 0:31:27at probably £200-£300
0:31:27 > 0:31:31but I think what you have here is a wriggling image
0:31:31 > 0:31:33of the young Prince Charles.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35I think it's a Royal peach
0:31:35 > 0:31:39and I would put a value of £6,000-£8,000 on it.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41Thank you very much.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53Fantastic.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58That was you at the Coronation, singing, "O Taste and See".
0:31:58 > 0:32:00- It was.- Absolutely fantastic.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02I just don't know how you did it.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05As an old chorister myself from Westminster Abbey,
0:32:05 > 0:32:09you had done this ten years earlier
0:32:09 > 0:32:13and we all held you up as the greatest thing there was,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15the greatest soloist ever.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17Oh, I don't think so!
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Well, I believe it was quite an experience.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22It was an incredible experience, and how old were you?
0:32:22 > 0:32:2413 and a half.
0:32:24 > 0:32:2813 and a half and you were about to sing a solo
0:32:28 > 0:32:32in front of your Queen, the rest of the world, and television cameras.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34What did it feel like?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- I was used to singing solos.- Yes.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41And we'd practised hard and long and so when the great day came itself,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45it was, dare I say, just another service in that sense of the word.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Now, there were supposed to be three people singing that -
0:32:49 > 0:32:55three senior choristers singing that "O Taste and See", weren't there?
0:32:55 > 0:32:58- Yes.- And it came, and what happened?
0:33:00 > 0:33:01I came in.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03And what happened to the rest?
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Um...they'll probably kill me for saying so,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09but they came in on the second part.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12They came in on the second. So that was just entirely you.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15And what did you feel? You'd been let down by the other two?
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Did you feel anything? Did you think, "Oh, my God!"
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Yeah, I think I probably did.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24So here we are, so many years later. What does it feel like?
0:33:25 > 0:33:29I suppose now, at a much more advanced age,
0:33:29 > 0:33:33one is able to appreciate just how important it was.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35And for your grandchildren.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38- Yes, well...- That's important too. I see you've got a medal for it.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40- Yes, I got a... - So you fought in that war.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44And, of course, you've got the wonderful...
0:33:44 > 0:33:47I would say the script but it is the service.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49The service, the order of service, yes.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51And you got it signed, I noticed.
0:33:51 > 0:33:52Yes, we've got, er...
0:33:52 > 0:33:54Osborne Peasgood, who was sub-organist at the Abbey.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56The sub-organist, yes.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59- And Harry Gabb, sub-organist at the Chapel Royal.- Chapel Royal.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02- Vaughan Williams.- Vaughan Williams. - Who wrote "O Taste and See"
0:34:02 > 0:34:04Yes, Herbert Howells.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07And Herbert Howells who also wrote pieces for it.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10- Somewhere is Sir William Walton as well.- Sir William Walton
0:34:10 > 0:34:13and then I notice on the back here, which is, I think, very nice.
0:34:13 > 0:34:18All the boys in the choir, there they all are.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23It's absolutely tremendous. How can I value this?
0:34:23 > 0:34:26An old chorister of Westminster Abbey.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Well, unless anybody knew that it was the chap who sang the solo,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34- they wouldn't know anything about it.- No.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36But for an old chorister, like myself,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38I would consider that a great treasure
0:34:38 > 0:34:40to find that in an antique shop.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42But this, of course, I think is the best thing.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44An ordinary one like that you can pick them up today.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46What do they cost?
0:34:46 > 0:34:49£25-£35 but yours, with the signatures,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52we're talking about £400 or £500 at least.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54It's tremendous stuff.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Well, thank you for sharing those wonderful memories with us.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Thank you for giving me the opportunity.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06As I said, they'll all go to my granddaughter eventually.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08No, you can't sell them!
0:35:15 > 0:35:18Earlier I was looking at those wonderful dress designs
0:35:18 > 0:35:20by Norman Hartnell for the Queen's Coronation
0:35:20 > 0:35:23and with me is Lady Jane Rayne and, Lady Jane Rayne,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27you wore one of those dresses because you were a Maid of Honour.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Now, I assume you would be a close friend of the Queen
0:35:30 > 0:35:33to be one of the Maids of Honour but in fact you hardly knew her.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36I only met the Queen just once.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40I shook her by the hand when my parents took my sister and I
0:35:40 > 0:35:45to a tea at Buckingham Palace when we were about seven and five.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50- So here you are. This is you here looking magnificent.- Yes.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55And so you think you were chosen, what, because of your heights?
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Well, I think that had something to do with it, because we had to
0:35:58 > 0:36:03be uniform and the Queen is very small so we would have dwarfed her.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05It must have been quite a day and quite an honour.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07It was SUCH an honour.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10I don't think... Well, I've never forgotten it. I never will.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13It was the proudest day of my life.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15And what was your role, as Maid of Honour?
0:36:15 > 0:36:18The Maids of Honour had to watch
0:36:18 > 0:36:21every move of the Queen, follow everything.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25If she got up, you got up. If she turned left, you turned left,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27You just could never let go of the train,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31which was quite heavy even with six people carrying it.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33And to make things easier for her.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Because when the official pictures were taken...
0:36:35 > 0:36:38This is you here sort of tucking her train in.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41- Yes, straightening it.- And the Queen looking very thoughtful.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Yes, she does look thoughtful there.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45What about the Queen herself?
0:36:45 > 0:36:49Because of course it must have been very nerve-wracking for her.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Well, if it was, it didn't show.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53She was so serene and calm
0:36:53 > 0:36:56and smiling some of the time
0:36:56 > 0:36:57and so natural,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59because when we all got in line
0:36:59 > 0:37:02with everybody in their places holding the train,
0:37:02 > 0:37:07she said... She looked round and then she said, "Shall we go, girls?"
0:37:07 > 0:37:08And off we went.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Tell me about the smelling salts.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16Well, you see these gloves that go almost up to the top of the arm?
0:37:16 > 0:37:20The only way you could get your hand in was through this
0:37:20 > 0:37:23little opening here with six little pearl buttons
0:37:23 > 0:37:27and inside the pearl buttons, underneath,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30was a little glass phial of smelling salts.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34And thank goodness we had them
0:37:34 > 0:37:38because when you stand for a long time - we hadn't eaten -
0:37:38 > 0:37:39one of them felt very faint
0:37:39 > 0:37:43and I suddenly felt something push against my back
0:37:43 > 0:37:47and I sensed she was falling to the ground
0:37:47 > 0:37:50and, luckily, the person on her right
0:37:50 > 0:37:52whipped out - great presence of mind -
0:37:52 > 0:37:56she whipped out, opened the glove, took out the little bottle,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59opened it and pushed it into her nose
0:37:59 > 0:38:00and she took a big sniff
0:38:00 > 0:38:06and somehow got through the rest of it all right, poor thing.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08And what was the atmosphere like afterwards,
0:38:08 > 0:38:09when these pictures were taken?
0:38:09 > 0:38:11- I mean, it must have been some relief.- Well, it was.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16It was lovely because we could all just sort of have a good chat
0:38:16 > 0:38:17and enjoy ourselves.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19And could you have thought?
0:38:19 > 0:38:22I mean, here we are, 60 years on,
0:38:22 > 0:38:24but could you have imagined, all this time on,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26- that she would still be on the throne?- No, no.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28And you'd be here talking about it!
0:38:28 > 0:38:30I know, that's what's so remarkable.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34And...but it doesn't seem like 60 years to me,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37it just seems like the other day. It's extraordinary.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43And you can see more of these remarkable photographs
0:38:43 > 0:38:45in the V&A's touring exhibition
0:38:45 > 0:38:48"Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton".
0:38:49 > 0:38:52Throughout history, we know that royalty have had an affinity
0:38:52 > 0:38:54for certain breeds of dogs -
0:38:54 > 0:38:58none more so than the Queen and her corgis.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02This is a wonderful story about a corgi called Susan.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04- Tell me about Susan. - Well, we only know that
0:39:04 > 0:39:10from my father, who was a veterinary surgeon in Kings Lynn in Norfolk.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13When the Queen used to come to Sandringham he and his colleagues
0:39:13 > 0:39:16were in charge of looking after the small animals.
0:39:16 > 0:39:21And one day a footman came into the practice
0:39:21 > 0:39:27and asked my father, could he have a look at this particular dog.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30And my father obviously needed some information.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34The footman said, "Well, I'm not really sure that I know the answers."
0:39:34 > 0:39:37So my father, on a scruffy piece of paper,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40wrote down some questions.
0:39:40 > 0:39:41Right. The first question is,
0:39:41 > 0:39:46which of course he addressed to the Queen, was,
0:39:46 > 0:39:50"How long getting bigger?" and what happened?
0:39:50 > 0:39:53A note came back with hand-pencilled answers,
0:39:53 > 0:39:57and who's written those? Of course, the Queen.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Was that something that he expected?
0:39:59 > 0:40:02- No, he did not.- He didn't?- No, especially on the piece of paper.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Especially on the scruffy...
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Let's look at the answer that the Queen wrote.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09It says, "No idea, she's always been fat."
0:40:09 > 0:40:10THEY CHUCKLE
0:40:10 > 0:40:15It's a lovely, lovely little kind of... Yes, I know Susan.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Susan was given to her on her 18th birthday
0:40:19 > 0:40:21and of course we know thereafter
0:40:21 > 0:40:24that all the corgis that the Queen has had
0:40:24 > 0:40:26have been descended from Susan.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29And I think what happens is that this little note
0:40:29 > 0:40:32brings us very close to the way that she felt about Susan.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35There's a poignant side to this story as well
0:40:35 > 0:40:39because we also have another letter here.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42I have to read this letter because it says, "Dear Mr Swan,"
0:40:42 > 0:40:45- obviously Mr Swan being your father.- Father.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48"I would like to thank you for all you did for my dear old Susan
0:40:48 > 0:40:50"when she became ill
0:40:50 > 0:40:54"and for the immense amount of trouble you took in getting her
0:40:54 > 0:40:57"sent to Cambridge and for all the care she had while she was there.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00"Perhaps you could express my thanks to your colleagues.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02"I had always dreaded losing her,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06"but I am so thankful that her suffering was so mercifully short.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10"She was very happily beating for us at our shooting the Friday before.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13"With renewed thanks, yours sincerely, Elizabeth R."
0:41:13 > 0:41:17My father was so delighted to get this letter, you know,
0:41:17 > 0:41:21for her to actually write to him personally to say thank you.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Did you talk to him and discuss how he felt about this?
0:41:24 > 0:41:26No, he was very private about it.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29- Right.- And, being professional, he didn't disclose it too much,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32but obviously, yes, we did hear about it.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34I mean, it's very difficult putting values
0:41:34 > 0:41:36on things like this, for the simple reason
0:41:36 > 0:41:39that these are very personal to you and I feel they're probably worth
0:41:39 > 0:41:42in the region of about £400-£600.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45- I would never sell them anyway. - Absolutely.- But thank you.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55Now, it's not often that I can look at somebody
0:41:55 > 0:41:57who has not only seen the Queen,
0:41:57 > 0:42:01but also seen The Beatles in the same nanosecond, but here you are,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04- aged what?- 14. - And what was the occasion?
0:42:04 > 0:42:07It was an investiture at Buckingham Palace.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12My father had been awarded the OBE for services in the military.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14He was in the Territorial Army.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18The day we went was the same day that The Beatles went to get their MBE.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20Now, there are some pictures here.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Yes, that I took, yes.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26- That you took on your instamatic or something?- Box Brownie or whatever.
0:42:26 > 0:42:27So tell me the scene
0:42:27 > 0:42:30- because this scene does not look like a normal investiture.- No, no.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33When we got there, we went in a taxi
0:42:33 > 0:42:36and we went through the gates of the palace
0:42:36 > 0:42:41and there were thousands of screaming girls, mainly.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43You didn't think they were all there for you?
0:42:43 > 0:42:45It would have been nice, but no.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48OK, so you were ushered in.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Yeah, a large hall
0:42:50 > 0:42:55and we took our place up one side of the main hall.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58My father was sent into a different ante-room,
0:42:58 > 0:43:00where all the different people
0:43:00 > 0:43:04who were receiving honours were held, including The Beatles.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07And my father realised at the time,
0:43:07 > 0:43:12that if he didn't get The Beatles' autographs on that occasion,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15he wouldn't have been well liked by his two sons,
0:43:15 > 0:43:20so he managed to get across the hall where they were being held
0:43:20 > 0:43:24and he managed to get The Beatles' autographs.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Hang on, I've got this picture of this military gentleman
0:43:27 > 0:43:31sort of running across and vaulting over chairs and...
0:43:31 > 0:43:34- That's right, that's right.- Is that the scene he painted for you?
0:43:34 > 0:43:37- Yes, I think that was for us. - And he got them signed on what?
0:43:37 > 0:43:39Well, this is the letter
0:43:39 > 0:43:42that commanded him to come to the investiture,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45and that was the only piece of paper that he had,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47that he could get the autographs on,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50and on the reverse are The Beatles' autographs.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Isn't that fantastic?
0:43:52 > 0:43:54I mean, the great thing is,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57- that your dad had a pen on him to mark the occasion.- Yes.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59- Now, he was well prepared. - He had a pen.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02Fabulous. And there's a great... Going to give that back to you.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05..there's a great write-up, isn't there? Here in the paper.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08Yeah, that was the local paper, the Chorley Guardian, I think.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11We were living near Chorley at the time.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14And it does, it mentions quite a lot about The Beatles at the top
0:44:14 > 0:44:17and then just at the bottom it mentions the fact
0:44:17 > 0:44:20that Colonel Smith, who was the local bank manager,
0:44:20 > 0:44:23also was at the palace getting his OBE,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26I don't think they were quite as interested in him as The Beatles.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31And I like this! Paul McCartney said,
0:44:31 > 0:44:32"She was just like a mum to us."
0:44:32 > 0:44:34You can just imagine!
0:44:34 > 0:44:37John said, "She asked me if I'd been working hard lately
0:44:37 > 0:44:39"and I couldn't think what we'd been doing,
0:44:39 > 0:44:41"so I said, 'No, no, we've been having a holiday'."
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Well, now, what you've got here actually, obviously,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49huge sentimental value to have your dad's...
0:44:49 > 0:44:53- That's this. That's the OBE he got on that day.- The OBE he got on the day.
0:44:53 > 0:44:59But I have to say that these also have a financial value too.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03The signed letter is just what Beatle fans want.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05It is...
0:45:05 > 0:45:08There is no question about its authenticity,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11it was a very elite group of people who were there.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15- So these signed investiture letters, they're not unique by any means.- No.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18They fetch between about £3,000 and £4,000.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21So that's a nice little memento to have,
0:45:21 > 0:45:25but I would say that the other important thing from this day,
0:45:25 > 0:45:30from 26th October 1965, is maybe it was the first time
0:45:30 > 0:45:34that the kings of the music industry met the Queen.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45The Queen IS the most photographed person in the entire world,
0:45:45 > 0:45:47I would expect, wouldn't you say that?
0:45:47 > 0:45:50I would think so, yes, she's got such a wonderful smile
0:45:50 > 0:45:52and she always looks so composed.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56Absolutely, and your father was Court Photographer.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57He was indeed, yes.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00And this is a wonderful picture of him. What was his name?
0:46:00 > 0:46:02- John Dixon.- John Dixon.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05It's so period, isn't it?
0:46:05 > 0:46:08- Yes. - That is absolutely wonderful.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Now tell me about this photograph here.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12There's the Queen and the Princess here
0:46:12 > 0:46:14all trying to outdo the chandeliers
0:46:14 > 0:46:16but who is this person here?
0:46:16 > 0:46:19- This is Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg.- Ah, yes, yes.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22And it's a very unusual photograph because at the time Marie-Astrid
0:46:22 > 0:46:26was considered to be a possible future bride for Prince Charles
0:46:26 > 0:46:30and the Queen would normally not have allowed herself to be photographed
0:46:30 > 0:46:32with someone in that position,
0:46:32 > 0:46:35so as not to show any favouritism.
0:46:35 > 0:46:36Any favour, so, yes.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39- She was Roman Catholic. - Ah, so I suppose that's it!
0:46:39 > 0:46:42But you've got some wonderful other photographs here,
0:46:42 > 0:46:46piles of photographs! We can hardly show them all. I love this one here.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49Yes, the Queen really didn't like wearing hard hats
0:46:49 > 0:46:50and very often she'd be given one
0:46:50 > 0:46:54before she was taken on a tour of some building site, or whatever,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57and she had a habit of carrying it under her arm,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00while still maintaining her royal hat.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Of course nobody was going to tell her to put it on.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04I think the caption to this is,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07"Haven't you got a blue one?" or something like that.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09- Or "A size six!" perhaps. - "Can you change it?"
0:47:09 > 0:47:10I love it!
0:47:10 > 0:47:13And this one here of the Duke of Edinburgh.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17- I'm sure none of these have ever been published, have they?- No.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21I have absolutely no idea what someone said. I think that's his detective behind him.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Yeah, sort of listening to the plumbing or something.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I think there's something very strange going on there.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30I love that. And another one which obviously is this one.
0:47:30 > 0:47:31I'm sorry to trivialise these
0:47:31 > 0:47:34but they're not trivial at all, they're wonderful photographs.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36This one here which is almost one
0:47:36 > 0:47:39- you'd see on the front of Private Eye.- Absolutely, yes.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41I've no idea what the Queen's saying but....
0:47:41 > 0:47:45- "How much?"- "How much is this reception costing?"
0:47:45 > 0:47:48- She looks absolutely shocked! - "Are we paying?"
0:47:48 > 0:47:51Yes. Tremendous, I love that,
0:47:51 > 0:47:55and so he went along with her on Royal visits all over the world?
0:47:55 > 0:47:59Absolutely. He went on 19 Royal tours in total in the 1970s.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03- Yes.- Particular memories...one of the early ones to Zambia,
0:48:03 > 0:48:07where the local police were, if anything, a little over-exuberant
0:48:07 > 0:48:10and my father was pushed into a rose bush
0:48:10 > 0:48:12seconds before the Queen's arrival
0:48:12 > 0:48:15but he's lying there, spread-eagled on this rose bush,
0:48:15 > 0:48:17as the Queen walked past
0:48:17 > 0:48:20and she just looked down at him and smiled and nodded and then walked on,
0:48:20 > 0:48:23assuming he could take care of himself.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27Oh, that's wonderful, I'd love to have seen a photograph of that.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29- Yes, I don't think that was recorded.- No, I'm sure not.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33This is tremendous and it's a lovely sight of the Royal family,
0:48:33 > 0:48:34Thank you.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36Absolute pleasure.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44The Queen's love and association with racing
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and horses and so on, is well known.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51What's not so well known is her association with racing pigeons.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Now, you know all about that, don't you? Tell me how you know.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Well, I know a little about it.
0:48:56 > 0:49:01I moved with my family from Staffordshire to Norfolk
0:49:01 > 0:49:03and met this gentleman,
0:49:03 > 0:49:07- who became Keeper of the Royal Lofts in Sandringham.- How amazing!
0:49:07 > 0:49:11- Yes. - And there's a lovely picture here.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14Is this you in the middle here, with Len here?
0:49:14 > 0:49:18- Yes. A long time ago, yes.- So he became part of your extended family?
0:49:18 > 0:49:20Well, sort of, yes, sort of, yes.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24And there's a wonderful picture here of Len
0:49:24 > 0:49:28with a sort of pigeon carrier on a butcher's bike.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30- A butcher's bike, yeah. - Why didn't he put it in the car?
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Well, he never drove, couldn't drive,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36and he used to go to Sandringham twice a day on his bike
0:49:36 > 0:49:38and as he got older -
0:49:38 > 0:49:42and he used to play football so his knees played up -
0:49:42 > 0:49:44and Her Majesty suggested,
0:49:44 > 0:49:50would he like to have the lofts taken to his garden,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54which was quite a large one, although it was only a small semi.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57- Is this it?- Yes, that's it, yes. - How amazing.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59Now, you say that you knew him well.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01I mean, did you know...?
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Looking at these photographs here the Queen used to visit him?
0:50:04 > 0:50:05Yes, about twice a year I think.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07Amazing! There's the Queen
0:50:07 > 0:50:09in her sort of country outfit,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13- this is presumably Len here, greeting her.- Yes.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14It's just extraordinary, isn't it?
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Well, it's what she does, in her private life.
0:50:17 > 0:50:22Exactly, so the Queen used to come round, what, for tea, to Len's?
0:50:22 > 0:50:24Well, it was normally a cup of coffee.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28I don't know what time of day but she had coffee, yes.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32And I did say to Len, you know, "What do you give it her in?"
0:50:32 > 0:50:36and he said he'd got two china cups and saucers
0:50:36 > 0:50:41specially kept for her and the Lady in Waiting,
0:50:41 > 0:50:46but he had a piece of cotton tied round the handle
0:50:46 > 0:50:48of the cup that he gave the Queen,
0:50:48 > 0:50:52so that no-one else drank from it, only the Queen.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54And I jokingly said to him,
0:50:54 > 0:50:59"I hope you take the cotton off before you serve the Queen coffee!"
0:50:59 > 0:51:02And he said, "No, of course not, I'd get them muddled up
0:51:02 > 0:51:05"and I wouldn't know which was which".
0:51:05 > 0:51:09So Her Majesty, if she watches this programme,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12she'll know now why the cotton was round the handle!
0:51:12 > 0:51:16What did Len think? I mean, did Len think of it as a great honour
0:51:16 > 0:51:18when the Queen came to visit?
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Well, oh, absolutely, yes, yes.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24He always took it as a great honour
0:51:24 > 0:51:28but he treated her as an ordinary person.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31I mean, he was gracious to her, as she was to him,
0:51:31 > 0:51:33but, you know, he wasn't rude or anything,
0:51:33 > 0:51:37but it was just his boss coming to see him.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40Well, it's a great story and I suppose there's one image
0:51:40 > 0:51:43which I think probably sums up Len
0:51:43 > 0:51:49and his relationship there with the Royal flight, I suppose,
0:51:49 > 0:51:52there he is releasing a pigeon
0:51:52 > 0:51:54- outside the gates of Sandringham. - Yes.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04It's often people that work for the Royal Family
0:52:04 > 0:52:06that know far more about them than we do.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Now, your partner's father worked
0:52:08 > 0:52:12for Princess Elizabeth and then the Queen for how long?
0:52:12 > 0:52:14Over 30 years.
0:52:14 > 0:52:19From, I believe, 1949 up to 1977, when he retired.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22And what was his job?
0:52:22 > 0:52:23He was her personal page.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25The official title was The Page of the Back Stairs.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29And just checking in this picture here, which one is he?
0:52:29 > 0:52:31When she knighted Chichester,
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Henry was this gentleman here
0:52:33 > 0:52:36and you can see him holding the handbag that she gave to him
0:52:36 > 0:52:38because she hadn't anywhere to put it down.
0:52:39 > 0:52:45And of course we've got a fabulous picture of her and him behind her.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47He looked after her every need, really.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49Yes, whatever she wanted, he was there on hand,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52like a right-hand man.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54If you met him, he was unassuming,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57he was quiet and you could see exactly why she chose him,
0:52:57 > 0:53:00because he was the soul of discretion.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04But he obviously had tremendous access to the Royal Family
0:53:04 > 0:53:07and there are wonderful photographs he's taken
0:53:07 > 0:53:09of the young Prince Charles and Princess Anne
0:53:09 > 0:53:10and I think this is funny,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12this birthday card with him
0:53:12 > 0:53:15with a tray of gin and tonic.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17I think he was known in the palace as a joker
0:53:17 > 0:53:19and they'd done that for him, yes.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Because they do say the Queen Mum quite liked her G&T.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25I think she does, yes. And I think the Queen likes a gin and tonic too.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28So one of his more pleasurable tasks.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31She was known to say, after visiting a certain Prime Minister,
0:53:31 > 0:53:32"I need that, thank you, Bennett."
0:53:32 > 0:53:37Oh, you see, you've got all these little stories you see!
0:53:37 > 0:53:39I think those stories, and people like Bennett,
0:53:39 > 0:53:41show us a different side to the Queen.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43Oh, certainly, yes. I mean, she's got a...
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Underneath it all, she has got a wicked sense of humour.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48Give me an example.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51Well, people used to come to dinner parties
0:53:51 > 0:53:53and she was on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56She considered that as her home.
0:53:56 > 0:54:01It was the only place that she'd furnished herself how she wanted
0:54:01 > 0:54:04and apparently they used to check what to wear for dinner
0:54:04 > 0:54:07because they never knew who was going to come aboard
0:54:07 > 0:54:09and this particular night she'd said,
0:54:09 > 0:54:14"Oh, Mufti." And so all of them are sat there waiting for her.
0:54:14 > 0:54:15She's not normally late
0:54:15 > 0:54:19and when she turned up, she turned up in full regalia.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22"Gotcha!" She says.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27It's a fascinating collection and in terms of valuation,
0:54:27 > 0:54:30I mean, it's several hundreds of pounds
0:54:30 > 0:54:33for all the things you have,
0:54:33 > 0:54:35and it's such a fascinating collection.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37Thank you.
0:54:42 > 0:54:47I'm standing in front of one of my favourite images of Elizabeth II
0:54:47 > 0:54:52and you, Michael Noakes, are the portrait painter who produced this.
0:54:52 > 0:54:53Well, I did, absolutely.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56It was a study for a big picture with lots of figures in it.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58So we're talking 1971-2.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00Er, two, three, that sort of time.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04As a professional portrait painter, many people have said to you,
0:55:04 > 0:55:06"Is the Queen a good sitter?"
0:55:06 > 0:55:09Well, she talks a lot, which is enormous fun.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12I must say every session I've had with her,
0:55:12 > 0:55:14I emerged thinking, "I really enjoyed that".
0:55:14 > 0:55:18So what is the Michael Noakes interpretation of Her Majesty?
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Because it's very distinctive.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23I have to say I love it, I don't know quite why I like it so much,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26because I think it's both regal and also human.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28Oh, well, thank you.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31What would you say you've brought to the Queen?
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Well, I'd like to feel that I'm not particularly over-awed
0:55:34 > 0:55:38by the people I sometimes paint, including the Queen.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42I mean, I feel that we're all... we're all creatures on Earth,
0:55:42 > 0:55:44however elevated she is and however significant she is.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46If you worry about that too much,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48you worry about what other people are going to make of it,
0:55:48 > 0:55:50and I wanted to do something
0:55:50 > 0:55:52which had a sort of serious element in it,
0:55:52 > 0:55:55because it is a very serious operation that she carries out.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58I imagine you're probably very good at keeping the patter going.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02Well, it's quite difficult, actually, chatting and trying to paint.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05I mean, because the Queen is looking out of the window a lot
0:56:05 > 0:56:07and running a commentary on what she sees.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11I mean, there was a time when a taxi got hit by a car
0:56:11 > 0:56:12and the drama of it -
0:56:12 > 0:56:14she got quite excited about it -
0:56:14 > 0:56:17she said, "Oh, I wonder if there's going to be a fight now!"
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Let's talk about the picture.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23I think, you know, as images of the Queen go,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25I think this is terrific.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27I think you've got quite a lot of her humanity.
0:56:27 > 0:56:33I love the way she stands centrally, gazing,
0:56:33 > 0:56:37in a way that's not quite your normal woman subject.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40I can tell there's a bit of a queen about this.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44Before I do a valuation on Her Majesty,
0:56:44 > 0:56:46I see we have one of the Queen Mother as well.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49- Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. - You've been busy with Royals.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53Well, that was painted, I suppose, about 1978-79.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55She was happy with it, I think,
0:56:55 > 0:56:58and I shouldn't say this about my own picture,
0:56:58 > 0:56:59but I actually rather like it.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01I think it says something about her
0:57:01 > 0:57:04which is not pompous and which is lively. Yes.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07So when it comes to valuation, my goodness me, this is difficult.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10With me here, especially. What's he going to say?
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Thank you for being so sympathetic.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15Well, look, let's start with the Queen Mother.
0:57:15 > 0:57:16It's one of a number of versions
0:57:16 > 0:57:19but I have to say it's a beautiful crisp rendering.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23I would say... Oh, I don't know, £15,000-£20,000.
0:57:23 > 0:57:29Her Majesty, well, £30,000-£40,000 I should think.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31But who knows what could happen
0:57:31 > 0:57:34if you had a group of well-heeled Royalists
0:57:34 > 0:57:37who'd had a few drinks at a charity auction.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39I could see this going up and up.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41I think you've given the Queen the X-Factor.
0:57:41 > 0:57:42Ha-ha!
0:57:46 > 0:57:48I hope you've enjoyed this
0:57:48 > 0:57:50Diamond Jubilee edition of The Antiques Roadshow.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54We've had fascinating insights into the 60 years of the Queen's reign
0:57:54 > 0:57:56and the years leading up to that.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Our thanks to Kensington Palace
0:58:00 > 0:58:04and to all the guests who provided us with so many wonderful stories.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10She said, "Shall we go, girls?" and off we went.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13She'll know now why the cotton
0:58:13 > 0:58:16was round the handle!
0:58:16 > 0:58:22My sister is by my side and we are both going to say good night to you.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25- Come on, Margaret. - Good night, children.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28Good night and good luck to you all.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32From the whole team on The Antiques Roadshow
0:58:32 > 0:58:35and this special Diamond Jubilee celebration,
0:58:35 > 0:58:37until next time, bye-bye.
0:59:02 > 0:59:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd